Chapter Three: Hunter and Hunted

In a short time Blister had found an avenue she hoped would lead down to the waterfront. Like a hound on the chase she darted this way and that on either side of her track, hunting for any small clue that would bring her closer to her prey. But the thin moonlight gave her little help, and nothing she could see on the cobbled stone street gave any hint that the children had passed this way.

At each alley-mouth, at each frowning doorway, she stopped for a moment to listen, but the silence of Aligoth was deeper and stiller than any other silence she had known. The whisper of her own breathing and the whining of her own blood in her ears were the only sounds she could hear. At each stop she would scowl and shake her head slightly, but then she would start off again, and her thin lips would stretch into a secret smile, for she loved to hunt and knew she would not fail.

Bit by bit the close air of the upper town thinned as Blister drew nearer to the river. The buildings here were large, and packed so tightly they seemed in the darkness like hulking giants jostling for space. Even in the old days this must have been an unkempt place, a bustling merchant quarter to serve the boats and barges that crowded the dockside then, where boats did not stop now.

Finally the hill she had been descending flattened out, and ahead she could make out a patch of pale light, moonbeams on water.

Now Blister became cautious. She clung to the deepest shadows more closely than ever, and took long detours rather than risk crossing any open ground.

Like most places in Aligoth, the long wharves were cluttered with debris. But even in the blackest corners Blister did not miss her footing or make the slightest sound to warn of her approach.

Low buildings lined the waterfront, little more than sheds, with space before them for unloading, and between and behind them where carts could be drawn up. Blister guessed that in one of these buildings she would find and corner her prey. Perhaps it would take a long time. That didn't matter - every stalking creature needs patience, and Blister had plenty.

She paused at the entrance of the first building and listened hard for sounds of breathing.

Nothing.

Cautiously she advanced into a small room that might once have been an office for the dockmaster or some other official. A small window allowed a trickle of light into the room; cracks in the ceiling let in more. Even so, it was dark enough here that Blister had to stand still for several minutes before her straining eyes could make out a closed door on one side of the room and a passage leading off into total darkness on the other. As she waited she felt something brush past her and across the room, just ruffling the hem of her cloak. Rats? No matter. Rats didn't bother her.

Blister could not count on being able to open the door silently, so she chose to explore the passage first. It was narrow enough that she could guide herself by touching the walls on either side as she inched forward. Her hands tore through cobwebs and damp moss that clung to the rough brick, and some frightened thing bit her thumb so painfully that she almost cried out. A moment later she had pushed the pain to the back of her mind and was hardly even aware of the blood trickling down her thumb and across the palm of her hand.

The passage went straight for only a few steps, then swung sharply to the left. Another step took Blister around this corner, and there she suddenly stopped. There was a light ahead, in a room at the end of the passage!

With an effort she remained calm. To find the children so quickly and so easily was more than she had expected. Now she had to make sure they did not manage to wriggle past her once she entered the room. Ah, how she would pay Wist back for this evening!

Blister had often seen Wist practising the Fairy Light spell, and recognized it now - a tiny, glowing ball of blue that hovered in the air at about waist height. Through the half-open door neither child could be seen, but Blister knew they were there, for the Fairy Light always stayed near to the sorcerer who summoned it.

She crept forward again, patient as ever. Soon it would be all over. That was good, for the searing pain in her thumb was getting worse - there must have been venom in the bite.

In the doorway she halted. Now she could see a slender figure curled up in sleep in the far corner of the room - a boy. She could not see Wist, but knew that she must be lying down on the side of the room opposite Heron, hidden from view by the door. All right, Blister thought. This is going to be easy. With a triumphant smirk she stepped into the room.

In the same instant the Fairy Light went out. Blister kicked the door shut behind her to prevent the children from escaping, then plunged forward. She cursed as her shin bumped against a stone block, but kept moving, bearing left towards where she guessed Wist to be.

Wist was screaming. "Heron, wake up! Help!"

Blister groped towards the girl's voice. Almost at once she found an arm, and seized it tightly. Then she shrieked, as Wist's teeth bit into her already injured hand. But Blister did not let go. With her other hand she grabbed a handful of Wist's hair and wrapped it around her fingers with a vicious twisting motion that made Wist stumble and cry out.

But now Heron had made his way across the room and had taken hold of Blister's waist from behind. He wrenched with all his might trying to bring her down, but she was too strong. Snickering triumphantly she hurled Wist to the ground then spun around to deal with the boy. But as she turned Heron stopped pulling and began pushing instead. The sudden change threw Blister off balance for a moment, so that she staggered backwards. Then she felt something take hold of her foot, and twist, and she fell with a moan of pain that ended as her head struck the stone floor.

Wist chanted hurriedly, and the Fairy Light reappeared. For the second time that long day she knelt to examine Blister's damaged head. This time she frowned. The bump had not been so hard after all, yet Blister was deeply unconscious. Puzzled, Wist took Blister's head in her hands and made ready to perform her Healing Hands spell.

"Use her belt to tie up her hands," she instructed Heron. "Tie her feet too if you can. She'll fight like crazy if she comes around again."

But as he seized Blister's wrist to begin his knots Heron gave a low whistle. "Look at this!" he said. "What's wrong with her?"

Wist looked, and gasped. From a deep wound on her enemy's thumb a black stain had spread across the palm of her hand and part way along her wrist.

"Poison! It must have been a spider or something! No wonder she passed out."

"Is she in danger?"

"I don't think so. The poison seems to have stopped spreading - I think she'll be all right. It's good for her she's tough, though. That bite would probably have killed us. I think we'd better tie her up anyway, just to be on the safe side."

Heron nodded, and resumed his work, tying Blister's hands in front of her rather than behind her as he had first planned. Meanwhile Wist chanted her healing spell until it became clear that the danger from the poison was entirely past.

When that was done the children sat down with their backs against the wall and smiled weakly at each other.

"That was a little bit too exciting," said Wist. "Is running away always going to be like this, I wonder?"

"Let's hope not," Heron replied. "It was some fight, all right. Lucky for us the poison took effect when it did. Otherwise the two of us wouldn't have had much chance."

"You're right," Wist agreed. "Though the three of us might have won all the same." So saying she nodded to Tormadeus, who was standing invisible at her side, then laughed at the astonished expression on her friend's face as the golden man suddenly appeared to him. "I'd like you to meet Tormadeus," she said. "He was standing guard when Blister arrived - that's why I was ready to douse the Fairy Light when she came into the room."

"And it was I who tripped her at the last," Tormadeus added. "After you had knocked her off balance. Your Blister would have done well in the old days, I can tell you. She reminds me of the Lady Pruella."

"What old days?" cried Heron. "What are you doing here? How did you get in?"

Wist answered on the demon's behalf.

"This is going to take a bit of explaining," she said. "I don't suppose it can wait till morning?"

Heron shook his head, and Wist grinned.

"No, I didn't think so. Well, it all goes back to this chain that you nearly stole from me..."

The morning began gloomily with a chilling grey mist that drifted into shore and settled coldly over the low waterfront buildings.

Wist groaned, and slowly came awake. The bruises from last night's struggle had left her aching and stiff; sleeping on a stone floor hadn't helped. She hadn't eaten since the afternoon of the day before, and she was dirty from head to foot. So this was running away!

Heron stirred on the other side of the room. In the middle of the floor was Blister. She was still unconscious.

Heron was on his feet in a moment, seemingly no worse for the hard night. Travelling with Yinna had made him used to hard beds and short rations; now he was eager to carry out the next part of their plan.

Wist groaned again.

"It can't be morning yet!" she said complainingly. "I only went to sleep a minute ago!"

"Morning it is," returned Heron brightly. He had gone to the door and now he poked his head out to scan the wharves. "There's a bit of fog, but it should burn away soon. I'm going to scout around some, okay? I'll be back in a few minutes."

"Don't be long," Wist said. "And be careful!"

"Don't worry," Heron assured her, and left.

No sooner was he gone than Blister's eyes snapped open.

"Untie me, Wist."

"No," Wist answered. "I don't dare."

"Untie me. We'll go back to Voltan and I won't make any trouble for you, I promise."

"I don't want to go back to Voltan. I'm running away."

"And what of me?" asked Blister. "Are you going to leave me here to rot?"

"I think you'll be able to get yourself free after a while," Wist said. "Then you can go back to Voltan and tell him whatever lies you want."

"I hate you, Wist. You may believe that I will punish you well for what you have done to me. As for Voltan - be sure that I will not forget to tell him what you have stolen from me!"

"Stolen? I haven't stolen anything from you!"

"My dear, that chain. Very bold of you to wear it so openly, I must say. But ungrateful of you to take it from me, after I had found it. I had hoped to give it to our master. You know how much he cares for such things."

"He won't believe you."

"Voltan is a clever enough sorcerer," said Blister, "but in other ways he really is a fool. Don't you know that, Wist? He will believe whatever I tell him."

Wist started to reply but Heron's voice from outside interrupted her.

"Wist! Wist! Come here quickly!"

Wist dashed outside. Heron was standing at the edge of the water waving his arms frantically at something far out in the river. Wist strained to make out anything in the mist that still clung to the water.

"Is it a boat?" she asked excitedly. "Is it coming this way?"

Even before her friend had replied she saw it too - a dark, ghostly shape silently sliding over the surface of the water. A puff of wind cleared some of the mist away, and now Wist could see the white sides and scarlet sails of a trim-looking trading vessel. A man in a heavy jacket stood at the big wheel near the stern; no one else was on deck. The children could see him glance their way, and stiffen in surprise when he saw them waving from the shore. The man shouted something, and a moment later somebody else appeared on deck beside him. Abruptly the boat veered - now it was heading straight for them!

Wist turned to Heron and hugged him. It had been so easy!

There was a skittering sound behind them and Wist wheeled around, startled. She looked warily along the line of buildings, but saw nothing.

Then she glanced upwards.

"Heron, look!"

It was bent, and hairy - a brown, wizened shape like an ancient monkey. It was clinging to the roof of the very shed in which they had spent the night. For a second its bright eyes seemed to linger on the chain at Wist's throat. Then it cocked its head as though listening for something, and suddenly it swung down from the shed and scampered away. It disappeared from view, but a moment later Wist caught another glimpse of it, on the rooftops down at the end of the wharves where the buildings were close together. For another few seconds she watched it appearing and disappearing among the chimneys as it hopped from roof to roof, and then she lost it altogether.

"What was that?"

"A monkey, I guess." Heron sounded doubtful. "I don't think it was quite the right shape for a monkey, though."

"It wasn't a monkey," said Tormadeus. "It was - something else. Something old. It recognized me, did you see?"

"I thought it was looking at Wist's chain," Heron said.

"I am the chain," Tormadeus replied. "The chain is me."

"Then what did it want? What was it?" Wist asked.

"Never mind," said Tormadeus. "Be glad it's gone. And look - here comes the boat."

It was a beautiful craft, not big, but sleek and well kept. They watched as two of the sailors brought down first the big mainsail and then the smaller sail that billowed out over the foredeck. The boat coasted in with the last of its speed and one sailor, a short, stocky woman, jumped nimbly onto the dock. She held the stout mooring lines in her hands but didn't bother to tie up.

"You need a ride?" she cried to the children. "Very well, then! Get on board! And be smart about it. The Swallow waits for no one!"